The case of a Saudi blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes has been referred to the Supreme Court by the king's office, the BBC has learned.Blogger Raif Badawi's wife said the referral, made before he was flogged 50 times last Friday, gave him hope that officials would end his punishment.A second round of lashings was postponed for medical reasons.

Member of Parliament for Leeds North West, Greg Mulholland, raised a written question in the House Of Commons today. Written Question - 228725: "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to secure the release of Raif Badawi and Alaa Abdel Fattah."

The question was answered in Parliament by MP Tobias Ellwood of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office:

"The UK condemns the use of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment in all circumstances. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised the matter last month with the Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Naif. My right hon. Friend also raised the case again when he visited the Kingdom on 23 March. The Saudi authorities have confirmed that the case has been referred to the Saudi courts for further consideration.

We have raised this case of Alaa Abdel Fattah in our conversations with the Egyptian government and will continue to do so. We remain concerned by the Protest Law under which Alaa Abdel Fattah was charged. Egypt’s constitution rightly demands respect for freedom of expression and association. I call on the Egyptian government to ensure that they implement these rights for Egyptian citizens, including by reviewing the Protest Law."

The Amnesty UK petition for the release of Raif Badawi has as of today collected over ONE MILLION signatures - as the people of the United Kingdom show their dismay with Saudi Arabia's government over Raif's unjust imprisonment and sentence of flogging. SIGN THE PETITION HERE.

Amnesty UK's petition states...

"Raif Badawi was flogged in public 50 times in January. He has 950 lashes and nearly a decade in prison left to serve - simply for blogging about free speech.

Raif is still due to be publicly flogged 50 times every week after Friday prayers until he has been lashed 1,000 times. Ask Saudi authorities to halt the barbaric punishment and to free this prisoner of conscience."

The Prince of Wales has raised the issue of jailed blogger Raif Badawi during his first meeting with Saudi Arabia's new king. Prince Charles had been urged by human rights campaigners to discuss the case during his visit. Read the full article here at The BBC.